The deep-pocketed super PAC also announced a “Watch List” of more than two dozen veteran Members whom it plans to evaluate and potentially target during the height of primary season during the next three months. Full story

March 21, 2012

Freshman Rep. Adam Kinzinger had some outside help in his victory over veteran Rep. Don Manzullo in Tuesday’s primary.

The Campaign for Primary Accountability, a super PAC, spent a whopping $222,000 on Kinzinger’s behalf late in the race. That’s more than four times as much as the $52,000 radio ad buy that YG Action Fund, a super PAC run by a former aide to House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (Va.), put into the race.

The six-figure sum is also more cash than the controversial, Texas-based super PAC has spent in any other race this cycle. Full story

March 20, 2012

Freshman Rep. Adam Kinzinger defeated longtime Rep. Don Manzullo in the first Member-vs.-Member GOP primary of 2012. Kinzinger led 56 percent to 44 percent when the Associated Press called the race just after 11 p.m. EST.

Kinzinger’s victory may partially vindicate House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, whose endorsement of Kinzinger elicited outcries from the House Republican Conference. Last week, a super PAC run by a former Cantor aide also spent $52,000 on a radio ad to boost the freshman lawmaker. Full story

The late donation from Boehner’s Freedom Project settles the Speaker’s support in the highly competitive Tuesday primary between the two Illinois GOP Members that has divided the House Republican Conference.

The Virginia Republican endorsed Kinzinger in a joint statement with Rep. John Shimkus (R-Ill.). “Adam Kinzinger is hands down the candidate the conservative cause needs to win the primary for Congress on March 20th and he has our enthusiastic endorsement for a second term in Congress,” the two lawmakers argued.

Although the statement does not directly name Manzullo, who has served 10 terms in the House, Cantor and Shimkus take a glancing shot at their colleague. Full story

The numbers in the redrawn 9th district, which stretches 120 miles along Lake Erie’s shoreline, favor Kaptur over Kucinich because it takes in more of her current territory. But, as Toeplitz points out, long odds have never stopped the two-time failed presidential candidate and one-time “boy mayor” of Cleveland from running before. Full story

February 1, 2012

At Roll Call, there’s no race like a Member-vs.-Member contest. Here’s the fundraising breakdown for these redistricting-forced battles, plus our picks for which Member won the money battle in the fourth quarter:

Democrats Vs. Democrats:

CA-30: Rep. Howard Berman obliterated Rep. Brad Sherman by bringing in almost eight times his haul in the fourth quarter. Berman raised just more than $1 million, while Sherman raised just $126,000. Sherman still has more in his bank account with almost $3.7 million in cash on hand. But Berman is quickly catching up and now has close to $2.9 million in the bank. MONEY WINNER: Berman, by eight-fold.